The space shuttle was designed, at least in part, to broaden our knowledge of the universe. To scientists, the vehicle was a… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
We can't simply blame the engineers when things go wrong because, no matter how well they plan, things don't always go according… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
No one wants to learn from mistakes, but we cannot learn enough from successes to go beyond the state of the art. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
As engineers, we were going to be in a position to change the world - not just study it. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Failure is Central to engineering. Every single calculation that an engineer makes is a failure calculation. — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
It has been said, by engineers themselves, that given enough money, they can accomplish virtually anything: send men to the moon, dig… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
A common misconception about how things such as space shuttles come to be is that engineers simply apply the theories and equations… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
We call the fates of the Titanic and the Concordia - as well as those of the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Although engineers want always to make everything better, they cannot make anything perfect. This basic characteristic flaw of the products of the… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
My first book, 'To Engineer Is Human,' was prompted by nonengineer friends asking me why so many technological accidents and failures were… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Engineering, like poetry, is an attempt to approach perfection. And engineers, like poets, are seldom completely satisfied with their creations. They notice,… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
Engineers are not superhuman. They make mistakes in their assumptions, in their calculations, in their conclusions. That they make mistakes is forgivable;… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
“In order to understand how engineers endeavor to insure against such structural, mechanical, and systems failures, and thereby also to understand how… — Henry Petroski Copy Share Image
All conventional wisdom has an element of truth to it, but good design requires more than an element of truth - it requires an… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
It is really want, rather than need, that drives the process of technological evolution. — Henry Petroski Copy Share
A failed structure provides a counterexample to a hypothesis and shows us incontrovertibly what cannot be done, while a structure that stands without incident… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
Everything we do is designed, whether we're producing a magazine, a website, or a bridge. Design is really the creative invention that designs everything. — Henry Petroski Copy Share
I employ case studies of failure into my courses, emphasizing that they teach us much more than studies of success. It is not that… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
Whether or not science can be applied to that mental construct [i.e. the designed entity] is a matter of availability. If there is body… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
Failures are much more dramatic than successes, and people like drama. I think this is why automobile races draw such crowds. People expect spectacular… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
The most amazing achievement of the computer software industry is its continuing cancellation of the steady and staggering gains made by the computer hardware… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by things large and small. I wanted to know what made my watch… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
Successful engineering is all about understanding how things break or fail. — Henry Petroski Copy Share
The space shuttle was designed, at least in part, to broaden our knowledge of the universe. To scientists, the vehicle was a tool; to… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
Because they are so humbled by their creations, engineers are naturally conservative in their expectations of technology. They know that the perfect system is… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
An over-reliance on past successes is a sure blueprint for future failures. — Henry Petroski Copy Share
I was always told that I was good in mathematics, and I guess my grades and standardized test scores supported that. My worst subjects… — Henry Petroski Copy Share
